Annalise and Rob were introduced with three other regular characters as university freshers that would begin studying at Hollyoaks Community College.

Hollyoaks wanted to show a realistic university experience through the characters, which included having them struggle to adapt to their lifestyle change.

Annalise disapproves of Rob's partying lifestyle and there is conflict between them, which Atkins believed reflected the real life experiences of new university students already in relationships.

Payne revealed that she decided to not renew her contract as whilst she enjoyed the character and being on Hollyoaks, she wanted to explore other acting projects.

[3] In addition to Annalise, the other four characters to be announced were Rob Edwards (David Atkins), Scott Sabeka (Calvin Demba), Barney Harper-McBride (Tom Scurr) and Ash Kane (Holly Weston).

[3] To promote the new characters, Digital Spy released a promo advertising them, whilst Payne and Weston were featured in a Pillow Magazine photoshoot.

[8] Payne had to travel to Liverpool three times for her other auditions, which she found "gruelling" and made her feel like she had earned the role at the end.

[8] Anna Passey, who would later go on to portray Sienna Blake in the soap opera, had also auditioned for Annalise and was "really disappointed" when she found that she had not been successful.

[4][2] She added that she hoped that being in Hollyoaks would raise her profile and get other people in the industry to recognise and respect her, which she believed would be a good thing.

[4] Speaking about working on a high-profile television series, she told Pillow Magazine, "I haven't really thought about [fame] much, and I probably should, James [Atherton] who plays Will was saying it's the fourth most watched programme or something.

[4] Payne added that she wanted to try to be responsible and set a good example in her private life due to Hollyoaks having a young viewer following.

There's always that person who wants to be clean – they make a rota and no-one sticks to it..."[5] Annalise was described as being beautiful and a "perfectionist" by Digital Spy.

[1] She was introduced to be studying Public Relations at Hollyoaks Community College and is the long-term girlfriend of Rob, who debuted in the same episode as her.

[3] Pillow Magazine also called Annalise a perfectionist and noted how she has moved in with Rob and "trying to be all grown up", only to realise that her boyfriend always wants to "go out and party".

The ultimate perfectionist, this well groomed PR student likes to keep things calm, organized and under (her) control - which is good in theory but difficult to achieve in the chaotic world of HCC".

There are plenty of people in the same boat as you who move into halls so don't be afraid to make a complete fool of yourself, Annalise surely does!

"[11]In an interview with the student magazine Impact, Payne revealed that Annalise puts a lot of pressure on herself to "be running every aspect of her life" and does not give herself much of a break.

[5] The actress believed that despite sometimes coming across as irritating, Annalise is a "really nice person", and hoped that new university students watching the show would empathise with the character.

[5] Payne also revealed that Annalise is a big fan of the British royal family and wants to be "immersed in that world", being part of their lifestyle and being associated with them.

[19] Payne revealed that she had chosen not to renew her contract, which was not easy, but she believed that she wanted to work on other project, which she thought was a good decision.

[21] Years later, Payne worked with her Hollyoaks co-star, Neil Newbon (Simon Walker), again in the video game Baldur's Gate 3.

[21] Annalise arrives as a new student of Hollyoaks Community College with her boyfriend Rob Edwards (David Atkins), where she meets her new flatmates Scott Sabeka (Calvin Denba), Will Savage (James Atherton) and Barney Harper-McBride (Tom Scurr).

Annalise becomes annoyed with Rob's constant partying and accuses him of not caring about her when he forgets about his plans with her, which leads her to forcing him to sleep on the sofa.

When she finds out that Scott has actually made them, the pair bond and Annalise tells him about her relationship troubles and that she believes that Rob is treating her unfairly.

She also works with sisters Mitzeee (Rachel Shenton) and Maxine Minniver (Nikki Sanderson) and gives them new business ideas.

Prior to Annalise's debut, Daniel Kilkelly from Digital Spy speculated that the new Freshers would be having fun and partying based on their promo.

[1] In April 2012, Kilkelly wrote that Annalise and Scott had not shown any signs of "becoming a proper couple" despite having feelings for each other for a long time.

[2] Tom Grater from Impact believed that Annalise was a "complete perfectionist" and possible "control freak" based on her profile.

[13] A writer from Inside Soap wrote that Annalise initially "cruelly" rejected Scott after his declaration of love and, believed that it was "clear" that she was hiding her true feelings from him.